Your best photos submitted to the magazine this month
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
The Orion Nebula
Danny Lee, Folkestone, Kent, 7 November 2021
Danny says: “This was my first attempt at imaging the Orion Nebula. At this time of year, it skims the neighbouring rooftops from my back garden, so I was happy I was able to capture it. I tried to show some of the dust around the nebula and I removed the stars in post-processing to help achieve that.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, William Optics RedCat 51 APO refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro mount
Exposure: 36x 300”, 3h total
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Lightroom
Danny’s top tips: “The Orion Nebula’s core is bright, so add in some shorter exposures to retain detail in the brightest areas. I try not to be too aggressive in photo-editing software when I set the ‘black point’ – the darkest area of the image on the left of a histogram. I set the arrow about 10–20 per cent in from the left to get a more natural look and to avoid losing detail in the darkest regions. Taking regular breaks helps too: fresh eyes help to identify things to improve on.”
Northern Lights
Tomáš Slovinský, Tromsø, Norway, 27 October 2021
Tomáš says: “During a journey with friends to Tromsø we enjoyed a great time on the beach watching the Northern Lights. Suddenly, a sky full of aurora exploded.”
Equipment: Canon 6D DSLR, Sigma 28mm Art lens, tripod
Exposure: ISO 4000 f/1.8, 2.5”
Software: Lightroom
The Pleiades
Basudeb Chakrabarti and Goutam Dey, Darjeeling, India, 6 November 2021
Basudeb says: “On a clear night, we imaged the Pleiades, rising and setting.”
Equipment: Nikon D5300 DSLR, William Optics RedCat 51 refractor, iOptron SkyGuider Pro mount; Nikon D5600 DSLR, William Optics RedCat 51 refractor, iOptron SmartEQ Pro mount
Exposure: 60x 60”, 100x 30”
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop
Polar-ring galaxy NGC 660
Martina McGovern, near Cambridge, 3 September–1 November 2021
Martina says: “This is my most challenging project so far, requiring over 20 hours of data over six nights.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Celestron 8-inch EdgeHD Schmidt Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
Exposure: 20h total
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
Martin Cohen, Fareham, Hampshire, October–November 2021
Martin says: “Going for both detail and a wide field of view demanded a 3×3 mosaic. To achieve this I had to acquire 27 hours of data over four nights.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, Sky-Watcher Quattro 8CF Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount
Exposure: 9 panels, 15–20x 180” per channel
Software: DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop, Starnet++
Mineral Moon and Moon
Fernando Oliveira de Menezes, São Paulo, Brazil, 7 November 2021
Fernando says: “I recorded the mineral Moon (left) in RAW format and the other in mono, adjusting the saturation of the RAW image to bring out the mineral details.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MC camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED refractor, iOptron CEM70 mount
Exposure: 900x 0.15”
Software: AutoStakkert!, RegiStax, Photoshop
The Phantom Galaxy
Rob Johnson, Liverpool, 26 September, 30 October and 3 November 2021
Rob says: “M74 is a difficult target to observe from my Bortle 7–8 skies due to its low surface brightness, but I can’t resist face-on spiral galaxies so I gave it a go.”
Equipment: Atik 383L+ camera, TS-Optics ONTC 12-inch Newtonian, Sky-Watcher EQ8 mount
Exposure: 7.8h total
Software: PixInsight
The Lobster Claw Nebula
Ron Brecher, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 25 November 2021
Ron says: “Using the Hubble Palette reveals some of the chemistry of this dynamic region of space.”
Equipment: QHYCCD QHY600M camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED refractor, Paramount MX mount
Exposure: Ha 22x 20’, OIII 22x 20’, SII 22x 20’
Software: PixInsight
Comet Leonard
Tom Masterson and Terry Hancock, Grand Mesa Observatory, Colorado, USA, 25 November 2021
Tom and Terry say: “This captures Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard as it passes the Whale and the Hockey Stick Galaxies.”
Equipment: QHYCCD QHY367C camera, Takahashi E-180 astrograph, Paramount GT1100S mount
Exposure: 116x 60”
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Photoshop
Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard – José J Chambó, Mayhill, New Mexico, USA, 11 November 2021 – Equipment: FLI PL6303E camera, Planewave CDK17 astrograph 
The Triangulum Galaxy – Catalin Daniel Cosar, Henlow, Bedfordshire, 30, 31 October, 1 November 2021 – Equipment: QHY 268C camera, QHY 268M camera, Takahashi FSQ-85EDX refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro mount 
The Fish Head Nebula, IC 1795 – Prabhu, Buraq dam, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 28 November 2021 – Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro camera, GSO 8-inch Ritchey-Chrétien, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount 
LBN 587 – Emil Andronic, Bushey, Hertfordshire, 24 September–22 November 2021 – Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro camera, AstroTech 106LE refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-GT mount 
The Sculptor Galaxy – Jeffrey O Johnson, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, 28 October 2021 – Equipment: QSI 690WSG camera, Takahashi TOA-130F refractor, Takahashi EM200 Temma II mount 
The Moon – Rob Randell, Preston, 13 November 2021 – Equipment: ZWO ASI224MC camera, SkyMax 127 Maksutov-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ5 mount 
Spiral galaxy NGC 1566 – Dan Crowson, remotely via El Sauce Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile, 23–30 November 2021 – Equipment: FLI PL9000 camera, PlaneWave CDK24 astrograph, Mathis MI-1000 mount 
Cosmic question mark (NGC 7822) – Jeffrey Horne, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 1–9 November 2021 – Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, TPO UltraWide 180 refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount 
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula – Jason Brown, Kielder Star Camp, Northumberland, 7 November 2021 – Equipment: Canon 6D DSLR, William Optics Zenith Star 73II refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
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